A Night to Remember What Happened Next
by Swordy Rides Again
Summary: Heero's decision is made - the wedding is off and he wants Duo back. But the course of true love never did run smoothly... 1x2, 3x4.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Well, if you haven't already guessed, this is the sequel to 'A Night to Remember', which I guess you'd have to read first to understand what's going on. A fairly short first chapter but there'll be more to come. And lastly, Dyna this one's for you! **

**Warnings: Shounen-ai, 1x2, 3x4, bad language.**

**A Night to Remember – What Happened Next.******

Chapter 1

Wufei's POV

Let's see; what are some of a best man's duties? A best man should:

A. Toast the bride and bridegroom and wish them every happiness in their new life together.

B. Tell hilarious stories about the bridegroom's bachelor years.

C. Generally be a tower of strength for the bridegroom as he anxiously prepares to make the biggest commitment of his life.

One thing the best man should absolutely _not_ do under any circumstances is lose the bridegroom on his bachelor night. No prizes for guessing then which of the above _I've_ managed to do.

As soon as Heero handed me his list and said he was off to complete three more of his tasks, I thought he looked a little strange. He'd been really quiet since we'd left the last bar and even the acts at the comedy club hadn't seemed to raise his spirits any. I thought maybe he was getting a little nervous about his forthcoming nuptials so I offered him a few words of advice and that's when he upped and left. Marriage is a pretty big step anyway without the added pressure of marrying the one time Queen of the World. Relena can't be an easy person to live with at the best of times. Don't get me wrong; her intentions are always good but she can be a little overbearing at times. Did I say a little? I meant a lot. Her constant demands would try the patience of a saint, but at least Heero's training is still being put to good use.

When I realised that Heero was actually leaving the club I made after him, but got trapped at the bottom of the stairs as a large group of men descended for the next show. When I eventually reached the door, Heero was nowhere to be seen. By then, the streets were starting to empty a little as people finished touring the pubs and went to a club for the remainder of the night, so it was easy to see that Heero had simply vanished.

So here I am; on a bachelor night now minus the bachelor. I retrace my steps back into the comedy club and find Trowa and Quatre holding drinks and wearing mirrored expressions of puzzlement.

"Where've you been?" Quatre asks as I head over to our now empty seats. "And where's Heero?"

"Good question," I mutter with a shrug, looking at them both. "He's gone."

"Gone where?" Trowa says, their perplexed expressions changing into matching frowns.

"I don't know," I reply, running a hand across my hair in exasperation. "He just got up and left."

Quatre sets the drinks down and pauses thoughtfully. "Did he say anything before he left?" he asks, "Anything that might tell us where he's gone?"

I get the list out of my pocket and tell them exactly, word for word, what Heero said to me just before he left in the hope that it would make more sense to them. Evidently not though, as their frowns deepen.

"Well he was acting a little weird before," Trowa suggests, "Maybe he just needed a bit of air."

"I've checked outside," I say, "but I couldn't find him."

"Why don't we ring his cell phone?" Quatre says suddenly, brightening at the thought of a solution.

I nod in agreement as I find my own phone in my pocket, speed dialling Heero's number before I've even put the device to my ear. Trowa and Quatre watch expectantly before I deliver the bad news. "It's switched off," I complain, knowing that takes us straight back to square one.

"Do you think we should go and look for him?" Quatre asks looking at Trowa and I dubiously.

I contemplate this for a moment before I shake my head resolutely. "London's a big place," I say, "And if Heero doesn't want to be found then I don't think we've got any chance of locating him."

Quatre and Trowa exchange glances before they both nod reluctantly. "You're right, Wufei," Quatre says, glancing back to the exit in the hope that Heero will appear. "I guess we should stay here and wait for him to come back."

We're just about to sit down as my phone rings. I snatch it out of my pocket and answer it without checking the display, presuming it will be Heero.

"Wufei?" a voice says and my heart does a huge lurch as I realise it's Relena. "Can I speak to Heero? His phone's switched off."

She sounds annoyed, although not half as annoyed as she will be when she finds out that we've lost him. The panic on my face has obviously alerted Quatre and Trowa that it isn't Heero and I'm sure they've guessed the identity of the caller as I stammer, "He's… er he's gone to the bathroom. pause No we haven't done anything nasty to him, Relena, honestly. pause Can I give him a message? pause Call you back? Okay I'll tell him. Yeah… bye."

I shut the phone off, holding it as if I expect it to bite me. "Great," I mutter. "Now what do we do?"

"Not sure, but I'd switch your phone off if I were you," Trowa says, and I watch as Quatre finds his own phone and does just that so she can't ring him either.

"She's gonna go nuts," I say, doubting that current technology would be able to measure her reaction when she finds out that we're all suddenly unobtainable. I frown when I realise that the others are trying not to laugh. "Listen, you've just not lost the former queen of the world's husband-to-be," I say crossly, folding my arms across my chest and glaring at them both disapprovingly. "I hope you'll intervene when she's threatening to have my head cut off with a blunt spoon."

Trowa and Quatre nod sincerely as we take our seats for the start of the next act, our eyes flicking back to the door every few seconds to see if Heero has come back.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

At that precise moment, Heero had no intention of returning for the rest of the show. He regretted that he had just abandoned his friends, knowing they would be worrying about him by now, but he couldn't delay what he was about to do. He _had_ to let Duo know how he felt, whatever the outcome may be. He knew he deserved Duo's rejection should the other man not want to resume their relationship, but he had to at least try. The small matter of his impending marriage suddenly paled into comparison at the thought of trying to win Duo back.

Heero had a mission.

He reached Leicester Square and crossed the plaza to where Chiquitos was, his heart sinking with every step as he realised the place was in near darkness. The main doors were now closed and, as he drew near, he could just about make out a couple of members of staff cleaning glasses and sweeping the floor as he peered in through the front window. Neither was Duo. He gazed through the window for a moment longer, trying to decide what to do next before the sound of a door opening and voices speaking distracted him.

"See you tomorrow, Cas," he heard a male voice say from down the alley that ran parallel to the building. As the figure emerged from the shadows, Heero realised that although it wasn't Duo, the face was still familiar. Suddenly it dawned on him; it was Duo's friend, the blond man that had served him earlier that evening.

"Oh, it's you," the blond said as he emerged from the alleyway to be confronted by Heero. "What d'you want?"

"I need to speak to Duo. Is he in there?" Heero asked, gesturing to the darkened building with an air of calmness that belied his desire to push the other man against the wall and threaten the information out of him. He'd had to learn that this was no longer appropriate now the war had ended and it still bugged him to hell that the verbal route usually took longer and didn't always yield the desired results.

"He's not here," Greg replied in his soft Australian accent. "He left already."

Heero sighed deeply, drawing a long breath in through his nose. He _had_ to see Duo tonight; his flight was mid morning tomorrow and he couldn't leave without an answer either way.

"Can you tell me where he lives?" he asked, certain that Duo would have told the blond about their history and he would say no out of spite.

Greg processed this request quickly, unsure what to do for the best. Normally he wouldn't dream of giving out a friend's address, but he had been there when Duo had emerged from the back room after Heero had gone, looking completely downcast and suspiciously glassy-eyed. Despite what Duo had said, it was impossible to miss the intense attraction the two men had for each other.

Seeing the other man's hesitation, Heero spoke quickly. "I need to see him and tell him how much I love him. I made a mistake, I know that and I have to try and make amends. If Duo doesn't want me back then fine; I won't like it but I'll have to get over it. At least give him the chance to make his mind up for himself."

Ignoring any remaining doubts, Greg nodded as he hunted for a pen and paper before scribbling down the address. "Here," he said, handing Heero the information he wanted so badly. "But if Duo's mad that I gave it to you, I'm gonna tell him you threatened me."

Heero managed a slight smile. "Thanks," he said, his expression bearing the hallmarks of his gratitude. As he started to walk away, Greg shouted, "Good luck", before he started walking in the opposite direction.

When he was alone, Heero studied the address Greg had given him. Not being familiar with London, the information meant little to him and so he decided to head back to the nearest underground station to seek help there. As midnight approached so did the cooler weather and Heero soon found himself wishing that he'd brought a coat with him. A guard at the tube station told him which trains he needed to catch and soon he was on the right line and heading towards the area of the city where Duo lived.

At that time of night, the trains were fairly empty and Heero rode mainly on his own until a large group of young men got on several stops before he was due to disembark. His soldier's instinct told him to be wary; the group seemed to be taking an unusual amount of interest in the smartly dressed stranger heading towards a not so smart area of town. He hoped it was nothing more than paranoia; an irrational reaction brought on by years of living as a wanted man, but his suspicions seemed to be well placed as he stood to get off and the group did the same.

As soon as the doors were open, Heero hurried onto the platform, trying to find a more populated area which would hopefully put the gang off from trying anything, but his destination was as deserted as the location he had just come from. It was only a matter of minutes before a voice shouted from behind him, "Are you gonna give us your money or not?"

"Not," Heero replied, spinning and facing the youths with a confidence that seemed to contradict his slight build and small stature.

The gang exchanged smirks as they started to flex their muscles, sensing the impending fight. "Is this guy fuckin' stupid or what?" one of the youths asked as his friends sniggered and sized Heero up, hoping that he was carrying plenty of money with him.

One of the mob; a large meaty looking young man with a scar across one cheek was first to step forward, evidently wanting to dispose of the Japanese man by himself and impress his friends with his physical prowess and cruelness. With surprising speed considering the size of his frame, the youth lunged forward aiming to catch Heero with a punch to the face.

However the Japanese man was quicker; ducking the blow and landing one of his own in the youth's stomach. Swiftly following it up with a knee to the head as the thug was bent double nursing his airless lungs, the gang was momentarily stunned by how the seemingly inoffensive Asian man had felled their leader. They remained fixed to the spot until the injured man, still clutching his stomach, growled, "What the fuck are you doing? Get him!"

They came at him all at once; raining blows upon him, which he either avoided or counteracted until the heap of injured youths grew larger. When there were only two left standing, Heero thought they were going to give up until one suddenly charged at him, almost catching him off guard. The youth was easily felled as he rushed at him with a clumsy punch but Heero realised too late that the attack had been a ruse to cover the other young man, who had suddenly produced a switchblade, which he lunged forward with and jammed into Heero's unprotected stomach.

The Japanese man let out a cry of surprise as he stumbled backwards, clutching the wound, which gushed red between his fingers. Instantly, the beaten youths were back on their feet; punching and kicking him with a viciousness that indicated that they didn't care whether he lived or died.

For several long moments Heero lay still, tucked into the foetal position to minimise the damage as the blows rained down on him. His consciousness was waning when he heard one of the youths say, "Come on, let's get out of here," and the pummelling suddenly ceased. When he was sure they were gone, helping their injured friends from the scene of the crime in case someone had heard the scuffle and called the police, Heero gingerly tried to pull himself into a sitting position to assess his situation. One eye was swollen shut, the orb stinging badly as blood ran into it from a scalp wound, making it difficult to see how badly the rest of his body had faired, but judging by the amount of pain he was in, the youths had done him some serious damage.

His shirt was ripped all over, the front of it stained heavily with blood from the knife wound in his stomach. The fingers on his left hand felt broken; not surprising since one of the men had jumped on his hand before he had managed to curl up into a protective ball to limit the damage they intended to do to him. With his one good hand, he reached into his pocket for his cell phone, knowing he needed urgent medical help to stop the bleeding, but found the device smashed up and useless, no doubt from being on the receiving end of one of the gang's booted assaults. There was no one around to help, so Heero decided to do the only thing he could think of: find Duo.

As he reached the end of the street, limping badly from his injuries, he was relieved to see that the road name matched the one on the scrap of paper Greg the barman had given him. Despite his pain, his heart lifted; Duo's flat wasn't far away. He stumbled down the poorly lit road, squinting through his one good eye to see the house numbers until he came upon the old Victorian dwelling, converted into flats, where Greg had said Duo now lived.

As he found the intercom, there was no name next to the apartment number Duo was supposedly living at. That didn't surprise Heero; after all, so long at war it was easy to see why old habits died hard. Revealing your whereabouts spelt danger; something the five pilots had seen enough of to last them a lifetime. Irrespective of the fact that the owner's name was not indicated at the entrance, Heero pressed the intercom buzzer, cringing as his bloodstained fingers painted the plastic button a deep shade of red. It took a moment before the device flared into life and Duo's voice crackled into the night's sky.

"Hello?" he said, the tone of his voice indicating that he hadn't been expecting any callers at this hour.

"Duo? It's me, Heero," the Asian man said, his voice rasping with pain. "I need to see you."

"Heero? How did you find out where I lived?" Duo said, his frown transmitting through the airwaves.

"I… I…" But the sentence never found its conclusion as Heero swayed and, wearied by blood loss, collapsed to the floor in a large crimson-stained heap.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: I've come to the conclusion that no one reads the author's note. Still, I'll see if I can make myself understood again. This fic is a RE-POST – it was written and completed last year, so don't worry about me not finishing it. As for writing fast, that's the last thing I'm any good at! -Swordy**

**A Night to Remember – What Happened Next.******

Chapter 2

Inside the apartment, Duo heard an unidentifiable thud as something hit the ground. "Heero?" he said again, more forcefully this time. "Are you still there?"

When he received no response, his sharp and ever-reliable instinct told him something was wrong. For a split second, doubt crept in as he wondered whether Heero had not answered deliberately, knowing that he would probably come down to investigate out of curiosity. But then, he knew Heero was not one to play games.

"Shit," he muttered, glancing around for the pair of jeans he had just discarded. Half dressed, he let himself out of his flat and bounded down the many flights of stairs to the front door. Flicking a light on in the entry way, Duo made his way to the door and peered through the spy hole.

"Heero?" he said loudly, frowning when he received no response. Had the other man run away? It certainly wasn't like Heero to lose his nerve if he'd taken the trouble to track him down and come all this way with something to say.

Cautiously, Duo unlocked the door and started to ease it open. Almost immediately he felt something pushing against it and he had to brace himself to stop the large wooden door from flying back and knocking him over. Once there was a large enough gap for him to look out he did so, scanning the view at eye level before his attention was drawn to the object below him, pushing against the door. The lamp from the hallway gave him enough light to see and with a gasp, he threw open the door and dropped to his knees.

"Heero!" he cried, seeing the handsome man and the blood. Too much blood… "What happened to you?"

His voice seemed to spark something in the fallen man and his eyes cracked open just slightly to see Duo gazing down at him. "I've been stabbed," he said, his voice barely audible. "I'll be okay."

"Shit," Duo growled, pulling off his shirt and using it to press down on Heero's stomach where most of the blood seemed to be coming from. His face was a rainbow of cuts and bruises and Duo didn't doubt that the rest of his body probably looked the same.

"We need to get you to a hospital, Heero."

As if he'd been electrocuted, Heero's hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Duo's arm. "No hospital," he rasped.

Duo shot him a cold stare. "Don't be an idiot, Yuy. You _need_ hospital treatment." His tone and expression then softened as he put himself in Heero's shoes and realised that he would probably say something similar. "We're not in the war now, Heero."

Heero appeared to have lapsed into unconsciousness as any further arguments were not forthcoming, prompting Duo to reach into his pocket for his cell phone and make the nine nine nine call. He relayed the details quickly and then debated whether he should risk moving Heero, but decided against it. The night was warm and Duo wasn't sure he could carry Heero's well muscled body up seven flights of stairs to his flat. Instead, he concentrated on pressing his ruined shirt to the knife wound and supporting the other man's head whilst he waited for the ambulance to arrive.

Approximately ten minutes later he was greeted by the sight of blue flashing lights working their way up the street towards him. He contemplated standing and waving but the emergency workers had already seen the open door and knew where they were going. The first paramedic jumped out as his colleague parked the ambulance at the kerb, jogging up the steps to where Duo knelt, cradling Heero's limp body.

"Hi," he said, addressing Duo with an easy smile. "You made the call, right? What's his name and what happened here?"

"It's Heero and I don't know exactly," Duo replied, shuffling over so the paramedic had room to join him. "He rang my intercom but then must have collapsed while I was speaking to him. I came down and found him here."

"Has he been conscious at all since you found him?"

Duo nodded. "He told me he'd been stabbed before he passed out again. He hasn't regained consciousness since and his vitals are sluggish and dropping steadily."

The paramedic nodded, realising that the young man with incredibly long hair obviously had some life saving experience, although he'd never in a million years guessed that the slight, waif-like creature had once saved the Earth and colonies as a gundam pilot.

"Are you a relative?" he asked.

"Friend," Duo clarified. _Ex-lover too_

The second paramedic quickly appeared, bringing with him the stretcher that they loaded Heero onto with well practised haste. There was a lot of blood, both on the unconscious man and the floor where he had lain, and the two men knew that time was of the essence. Duo watched them work, his face a grim mask as he absentmindedly started to wipe the blood from his hands.

Once they were ready to leave, the first emergency worker turned to Duo, ready to tell him that he would have to make his own way to the hospital since he wasn't family. The violet-eyed man was already aware of this technicality - heaven knows it had happened every time they'd needed hospital treatment during the war, but he hadn't accepted it then and he wasn't about to accept it now.

"I have to come with you," he said firmly, no pleading tone in his voice. It was a statement, plain and simple. "If Heero regains consciousness during the journey then you could be in danger."

The two paramedics exchanged puzzled glances and were about to argue before Duo's solemn expression stopped them.

"Trust me," he said quietly, gripping the rail of the stretcher, his knuckles tinged white. "Let's just say living through a war makes you suspicious of everyone, even when they're trying to help you."

The older man's eyes narrowed at the seemingly strange comment, suddenly feeling that the long-haired boy looked familiar to him. What also was clear was that the American was not going to take 'no' for an answer, and so he simply nodded his assent.

"Get in," he instructed as he and his colleague prepared to load the stretcher into the back of the emergency vehicle.

They had been in transit approximately ten minutes, their sirens blaring loudly, when Heero started to show signs of life. The muscles in his arms began to tense and relax as he clenched and unclenched his fists as he fought against the blackness that enveloped him. Duo knew what he was doing; he was firing himself up so when he opened his eyes he would be ready to attack, catching his assailants unawares. Immediately Duo was at his side, his hand resting gently on his upper chest.

"Heero, off guard," he said firmly as the paramedic next to him looked on curiously. Instantly, Heero's body relaxed; the combination of those words and the voice that uttered them, allowing him to rest once more. Seeing there was more to the two young men in his ambulance than he first realised, the paramedic sat back and looked squarely at Duo.

"You were a gundam pilot, weren't you?" he said suddenly realising at last why the face was so familiar. "02, isn't it?"

There had been brief accounts of the five young men who had almost single-handedly brought peace to Earth and the colonies, accompanied by several snatched photographs. Relena had used her power to silence the media after that, but those with long memories would be unable to forget the five fresh-faced boys who had sacrificed everything for the conflict.

"Yes," Duo said flatly after a pause, although there was a slight tone of warning in his voice before he nodded to Heero's prone form. "And this is 01."

The paramedic nodded in comprehension, finally realising why he'd thought there was something that marked the young American out from the moment he'd met him. They travelled the rest of the way in silence until they reached King's College Hospital, where the now silent vehicle came to sudden halt in the ambulance bay. The back doors flew open and Duo was greeted by the sight of several nurses and a doctor waiting to take charge.

"Stab wound to the stomach. Time of assault not known, although he was found approximately twenty minutes ago. Victim's name is Heero Yuy," the emergency worker said as he helped the nurses remove the stretcher. "He's likely to need a transfusion as he's lost a lot of blood at the scene and en-route."

"Okay," the doctor said, surveying his patient before he turned to one of the nurses. "Get onto his records, we need to find his blood type…"

"A," Duo said, standing from his seat inside the ambulance and jumping out, his long chestnut braid trailing in his wake. "His blood type's A."

The doctor stared at the blood-stained young man with a look of disbelief before the paramedic intervened. "Trust him, okay?"

Duo gave the man a brief but grateful smile as the nurses started to wheel Heero away. Seeing Duo wasn't protesting about going too, the paramedic frowned. "What if he wakes up again? Won't they be in danger?"

Duo shook his head as he wrapped his wiry arms around his slender frame to block out the increasingly chilly breeze. "No. He's heard me tell him it's safe. That's enough." He shrugged as he turned to walk inside the building. "He trusts me."

The paramedic watched him go, his long rope-like hair hitting the backs of his jean-clad legs as he walked. He was small of stature and so slight of build that it was hard to believe that the young man had been such an instrumental part in achieving peace, even though he had confirmed it himself. However, the intensity of those violet-blue eyes had been more than enough to back up his words.

Inside the hospital, Duo made his way over to the main desk. The nurse behind the counter looked up from her paperwork, her smile of welcome faltering as she took in his blood stained appearance.

"Are you hurt?" she asked quickly, visibly relaxing when he shook his head in negation.

"No, I've come in with a friend who's been stabbed. They've told me to come here and give you his details."

The nurse nodded as she pulled the keyboard towards her and prepared to type.

"His name is Heero, spelt H-E-E-R-O. Surname, Yuy." He spelt that out too before giving Heero's date of birth.

"Okay, what's his address?" She looked up from the computer screen when Duo didn't answer.

"I… I don't know. He was just visiting London," he said, realising that their lack of contact over the last three years meant he had no idea where his ex-lover was living. Somewhere in Sanque he presumed.

"That's okay," she replied, in response to his blank expression. "I'm sure we'll be able to get the rest of the information from Mr Yuy himself later on."

Duo nodded numbly as he shivered from the cold. The nurse looked sympathetically at the young man who had clearly come unprepared and she reached into a jar under the desk and handed him a couple of coins. "Here," she said, smiling at him gently, "Get yourself a hot drink and take a seat. I'll come and find you if there's any news on Mr Yuy's condition."

Duo smiled at her gratefully, knowing that even at twenty years of age, his wide-eyed and somewhat childlike features made him irresistible to women, both young and old. He gave his name in before heading for the vending machine to invest in a cup of strong black coffee.

A full hour had passed before a doctor emerged through the swing doors at the end of the corridor. He headed first to the desk, then on learning his patient had been accompanied to the hospital, headed towards the man waiting patiently in the plastic chair, in the direction the nurse had indicated.

"Mr Maxwell?" he asked as Duo stood to greet him with a nod. "Mr Yuy is stable now, but I'm afraid he's not come round yet. We've repaired the wound and stopped the bleeding so he should make a full recovery. We'll keep him in Intensive Care tonight but we should be able to move him in the morning. He'll need to stay in for a couple of days yet though."

"Can I see him?" Duo asked, his face still set in grim lines despite the positive prognosis. The doctor nodded before gesturing for Duo to follow him. "I'll show you where he is."

Duo was taken through the intensive care ward to the room where Heero was. The doctor then excused himself and left, leaving Duo alone with his unconscious patient. Numerous facial bruises and a split lip was the damage Duo _could_ see and it made him wonder just how much damage was concealed beneath the blankets and hospital gown. He was hooked up to several monitors, which displayed his steady heart rate; the rhythmic bleeping a somewhat comforting sound to the American who instinctively hated the silence.

"Hey, Heero," he said, moving towards the bed and gazing down at the handsome face below him. "Way ta scare the shit outta me."

A humourless smile passed his lips as he succumbed to the temptation of touching his ex-lover, his hand reaching out and pushing the messy brown hair away from his closed eyes. He sighed heavily at the realisation that he was far from over his first and only love, despite all that the other man had done to him in the past. He wanted to hate him, or at least be indifferent to him but adopting either stance would be a lie; and Duo Maxwell didn't lie, least of all to himself.

"Goddamnit, Heero," he said sadly, "Why did you have to show up?"

His musings were interrupted when a nurse came into the room carrying a small plastic bag. Seeing Duo, she smiled. "Here," she said, placing the bag on the bedside cabinet. "These are what's left of Mr Yuy's belongings. I'm afraid his clothes are all ruined."

The plastic bag was transparent and in it Duo could see Heero's wallet and cell phone along with his watch, the face of which was shattered beyond repair. When the nurse had gone, he glanced at the unconscious man recalling something Heero had said earlier. He was in London with the other pilots; surely they were wondering where he was?

Snatching up Heero's phone, he headed out of the main building, taking heed of the signs that proclaimed 'All Mobile Phones Must Be Switched Off' until he got outside. The phone's screen was also cracked and at first he couldn't get the handset to work, but after taking the back of it off and fiddling with the Sim card and its connections, it finally looked like it should work; the damage mostly superficial.

It was colder now and he crouched down to conserve his heat as he turned the device back on, praying that it would work, despite the damage. Almost immediately it started to ring, the caller ID displaying that Heero had several messages to listen to. The first was from Quatre wondering where he was; the second was Relena with a similar query, although she sounded more annoyed than worried. The third message was also from the blond Arabian, asking him to call as soon as he got the message. Evidently Relena had been on the phone to him too, demanding to know the whereabouts of her husband-to-be.

After he had listened to all the messages, Duo debated what to do. He had to ring one of them to let them know what had happened and it was a pretty easy choice as to which one it would be. He and Quatre had been close throughout the wars, ever since they'd met up and hidden out with the Maguanacs in the underground desert base.

Over his three years of self imposed isolation from the other pilots, Quatre was the one that he had missed the most, aside from Heero of course. The blond's easy manner and innate friendliness made him an irreplaceable comrade during the wars and Duo felt saddened that their friendship hadn't continued afterwards. Quatre hadn't really done anything wrong but the braided pilot had been angry and had decided to sever all ties with his old life as a result. It would be strange to speak to Quatre again after so long but it was either him or Relena, and since she had always hated him, Duo opted to ring his old friend.

He scrolled through the phone's address book until he found Quatre's cell phone number and hit the button to call it. Thankfully, it started to ring and was answered almost as quickly.

"Heero!" Quatre's relief-filled voice cried, obviously having seen the caller's identity on his phone's display. "Where are you? We've been really worried!"

"Uh, it's not Heero," Duo said, wondering how to start explaining all this. There was a brief silence before Quatre's voice came back on the line.

"_Duo_?" he said as if he could scarcely believe it. "By Allah, Duo, is that you?"

"Yup," the other replied somewhat sheepishly, "Hey, buddy, how's things?"

Clearly Quatre never heard the question as he struggled to try and understand what was going on.

"I'm with Heero," Duo said, breaking into the silence. "He's been hurt."

"He's been hurt?" Quatre repeated. "What's happened?"

"I'm not sure exactly," Duo answered, switching the phone across to his other ear as he huddled against the wall for warmth. "He showed up at my flat saying he'd been stabbed. He was bleeding badly."

Duo heard the word 'stabbed' in the background, presumably as Quatre relayed the news to the two other pilots, before the blond came back on the line. "Where is he, Duo?" he asked, sounding very much in mission mode.

"King's College Hospital. He's stable but unconscious. Just get here as soon as you can."

He ended the call, knowing his three friends would have a million questions to ask him when they arrived, before he turned the battered handset off and headed back inside.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note – Thanks to everyone for the reviews so far.**

**A Night to Remember – What Happened Next.******

Chapter 3

For Duo, sitting with a silent Heero, time seemed to pass with incredible slowness when in actual fact, it was only twenty minutes before the other three pilots tentatively opened the door and stepped into the room. Their first instinct was to glance at the man lying unconscious in the bed but it wasn't long before their eyes strayed to the person occupying the seat on the other side of it. He looked up as they entered, offering the group a shy smile before turning to look back at Heero. He felt awkward having not seen any of them for such a long time and then meeting again under such bizarre circumstances.

"Hey, guys," he said sheepishly. "Long time, no see."

He reluctantly lifted his eyes, expecting to see anger or hatred in his former comrades but he was greeted by the sight of Quatre and the others gazing at him as if they could hardly believe he was really there. The Arabian looked suspiciously close to tears as he rushed around the bed and threw his arms around the other man. "Oh, Duo, where have you _been_?"

Duo raised his arms and returned the gesture, taking in the Arabian's scent and realising that he still smelt the same, with that slightly spicy aroma that was so unique to the handsome blond. They may as well have been fifteen years old again for the little that they'd changed.

"We missed you," Quatre said as the tears threatened to spill onto his cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Duo replied, feeling responsible for the other's pain. "I just had to get away."

Sensing the other two pilots behind him, Quatre reluctantly stepped back to allow them to greet their missing friend. Trowa wrapped his strong arms around the smaller man and embraced him tightly. "It's great to see you," he said happily, noting some of the physical changes in his friend. "You're looking really well."

"Thanks," Duo replied as Trowa let him go and Wufei stepped forward. Having not seen the Chinese man for three years, Duo knew nothing of how married life had softened his hard edges and he was expecting a firm handshake and a stern rebuke from the once angry young man. So when Wufei did the same as Quatre and Trowa, Duo accepted the embrace gratefully, realising that it wasn't just himself that had changed during the war.

As Wufei was greeting the braided man, Quatre and Trowa turned their attention back to the man in the bed.

"Is he really okay?" Quatre said, glancing back at Duo when he had finished reacquainting himself with Wufei.

"The doctor says so," Duo replied, pulling his braid over his shoulder and allowing it to trail down his chest. "They've stopped the bleeding and have given him a transfusion so they say he should make a full recovery. The rest is just superficial."

The other men nodded; their expressions similarly relieved.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Trowa asked, his hand resting supportively on his lover's shoulder.

Duo shook his head before relaying how Heero had showed up at his flat but collapsed from his injuries before they'd had chance to talk. As he was speaking, Duo noted Quatre's eyebrows knitting together to form a frown.

"How did Heero know where you lived?" he asked, knowing the others would be thinking the same thing. "We didn't even know you were in the UK, let alone in London."

Duo sat back down into the visitor's chair, feeling the cold starting to nip at his bare arms as he shrugged. "I have no idea how he found out. I can only guess that someone from work must have told him."

He looked up to be greeted by even deeper frowns and signed, knowing he would have to explain. "I work in Chiquitos, the bar in Leicester Square you were in earlier tonight." He paused as they gasped in amazement; realising they'd been so very close without knowing. "Heero came to the bar to be served and saw me. He obviously had no idea I was in the UK either as he was very shocked. We had a quick talk; things were still a little awkward though between us and then he left."

"Why didn't he say anything?" Quatre said in disbelief, turning to his two smartly dressed companions.

"Because I told him not to," Duo replied sadly, his head bowed. "I'd worked hard to make a new life for myself so revisiting my old one didn't seem like such a good idea. I knew you were only visiting so I figured once you'd gone I'd be able to get on with things."

"So now that we've found you, you don't want us in your life?" Trowa asked, sensing Quatre wanted to ask the same thing but was afraid of the answer.

Duo offered them a sad smile as he rubbed his arms, lifting the sleeves of his t-shirt, revealing more of the large black patterned tattoo that ran down his shoulder almost to his elbow. "I thought it would be for the best, but seeing you all has made me realise I was just kidding myself. I've really missed you guys," he said; sorrowful violet eyes lifting to meet them before his gaze turned to Heero.

The others saw the look and recognised the pain that seeing Heero had caused him. "I loved him so much," he said wistfully and to no one in particular. "But he betrayed me because he thought his new friends wouldn't understand about us. He deliberately hurt me to force me to be the one to leave. He said… terrible things."

He felt a hand upon his shoulder and looked up to see Quatre looking down at him in concern. "I'm so sorry, Duo," he said, his voice wavering slightly. "Heero never explained what had happened until it was too late. He has since spoken many times about the guilt he carries around with him about what he did to you and I know he'll want to try and make it right with you."

Duo offered him a thin smile. "Well, it's water under the bridge now. Mr Yuy here is about to get himself a missus."

The others returned a smile at his attempt at humour but none could miss the obvious hurt in his eyes as he acknowledged that his soulmate was about to be wed to someone else.

"Has anyone told Relena?" Duo asked eventually before the silence could get too awkward. The three other pilots exchanged anxious glances before Quatre shook his head.

"She must know something's wrong as she's been trying to ring all night and we had to make an excuse why she couldn't speak to Heero. We switched our phones off for a while but I'm so glad we put them back on or we'd never have got your call. I think Relena thinks Heero's chained to a lamppost somewhere."

Duo couldn't help the wry smile that twitched at the corners of his mouth at the image that immediately sprung to mind before he turned to look at the battered man and his amusement faded.

"So who's gonna break the bad news?"

"I guess it has to be me since I'm the best man," Wufei said flatly, before he rolled his eyes. "It's a good job my wife's a doctor…"

Duo frowned before he realised that Wufei must have been wed while he'd been away. "Congratulations, 'Fei," he said, standing and offering the other man his hand. "I forgot that you'd proposed."

Wufei accepted his warm wishes as he smiled, his expression melancholy. "We tried to find you," he explained, "We so wanted you there. We even set a place for you at the reception in case by some miracle you came back."

"I'm sorry," Duo said, feeling yet more guilt at the pain his disappearance had caused his friends.

"Don't be," Wufei replied, a genuine smile on his handsome face. "You did what you had to. I'm just glad we've had the chance to meet up with you again, despite the circumstances."

Duo looked up to be met by Wufei's expression of happiness and was amazed all over again at how his friend had changed so much. 'Content' was the word he was looking for when he thought of an adequate phrase to describe the Chinese man.

"Well," Wufei sighed, his smile fading at his next thought. "I'd better go and ring Relena."

"Don't"

The voice startled them all and they turned quickly to see Heero watching them through heavy lidded eyes, one of which barely opened due to the amount of swelling surrounding it.

"Heero!" Quatre cried in relief as they moved to stand closer to his bed. "How're you feeling?"

"Where's Duo?" he said, ignoring the question as he panicked at the thought that the other man might have disappeared again.

"I'm here," Duo said soothingly, stepping past Trowa to come into Heero's limited line of sight. "You gave us quite a fright there, buddy."

"I'm sorry," he said, trying to smile at the violet-eyed man but failing miserably as his split lip caused him to wince. "And guys? I'm sorry for running out on you. There was just something I had to do."

The others nodded understandingly before Quatre started to shepherd Wufei and Trowa to the door. "We'll leave you alone for a few minutes," he said, trying to sound innocent. "We'll go and find some tea."

"Okay, thank you." Heero said, before he reached out and caught Wufei's hand.

"Promise me you won't call Relena yet," he said studying the Chinese man through swollen and bloodshot eyes.

Wufei looked as if he was about to protest before he shrugged, resigning himself to complying with Heero's request.

"Sure. A few more minutes won't make a difference I guess."

"Thank you," Heero replied gratefully as the three friends left the room, closing the door quietly behind them.

Once they were alone, the awkwardness suddenly seemed to return as Duo stood, fiddling with the clipboard at the end of the bed.

"Duo."

The long-haired man's head shot up to see Heero studying him intently. "Come and sit down."

Duo nodded before he did as Heero asked, silence threatening once again before he suddenly blurted out, "I'm glad you're gonna be okay. I was really worried."

"I'm sorry for just turning up like that," Heero replied, "But I needed to see you again."

Duo looked pained as he searched for something to say; in the end settling for, "Why?"

Heero winced as he tried to sit up to see his ex-lover better. "Because I needed to tell you I was sorry…"

"You already did," Duo interrupted.

"…and I was wrong. I love you, Duo."

Violet eyes went wide as he ceased toying with the end of his braid. "What about Relena?" he asked weakly.

"No," Heero said firmly, his voice regaining a little of its usual strength. "I don't love her, I love you."

"But you're about to marry her."

"I know but… it doesn't feel right, it never did. I fooled myself into thinking that if I gave it a try, I'd be able to forget about you eventually, but I know that won't happen. I'll always love you, Duo, even if you reject what I'm asking."

Duo's heart lurched and he had to steel himself to look Heero straight in the eye. "Which is?" he asked, not daring to assume what Heero was about to say.

"I want you to let me back in your life, Duo. I know after everything I did that I have no right to ask this of you but I want us to try again. I want to be the Heero Yuy you wanted three years ago." He looked away, suddenly ashamed. "I know it's no excuse but I genuinely believed Relena's friends when they said it was wrong to be in love with another man. They talked like it was dirty and unforgivable and I panicked. I never thought about talking it over with you, or Quatre and Trowa for that matter until it was too late. When you'd gone, I realised that I'd got it wrong; I wanted to come after you but I knew I'd hurt you and damaged our relationship irreparably."

"You never bothered to find out whether it was irreparable," Duo countered. "So why d'you think it would work now?" He was trying to remain objective but his heart was melting inside him.

"Because I'm not as naïve as I was back then. I know it's nobody's business who I choose to love."

"You were naïve enough to think that marrying Relena would solve your problems," Duo replied, although not unkindly.

Heero looked straight at the handsome man as his heart sank. "So it's a 'no' right?" he asked sadly.

Duo shook his head as the last of his resolve slipped away. "You hurt me, Heero and I can forgive but I can't forget, but… I don't want to live without you either."

"What are you saying?" Heero asked, daring to hope.

"I'm saying…" Duo said, taking a deep breath knowing there was no turning back. "That I think I'd like to try again… with you. But this is it, Heero. No second chances if you hurt me again. I'll be gone and even if you find me, I won't listen to anything you have to say." As the harshness in his expression faded, he shook his head, as if he was amazed by his own decision. A gentle smile followed. "God help me, there are so many reasons why I should just turn around and walk away."

"I'm glad you're not going to though."

Duo nodded, hoping he wouldn't live to regret his decision. "What will you do about Relena?"

Heero attempted to shrug but the pain distorted the movement. "I haven't worked out a strategy for that particular mission," he replied, offering Duo a rare glimpse of the sense of humour that he'd lacked during the war.

Duo chuckled, recognising the familiar language of battle. "Easy now, Yuy. 'Fraid you're on downtime for the next few days at least. Maybe we should postpone that particular mission until you're better."

Heero smiled, hearing the traces of an English accent seeping into Duo's vibrant tones. Studying the handsome face, he was truly amazed that he'd been able to live without seeing it for so long. His musings were interrupted as the door slowly opened and Quatre tentatively stuck his head in. "Hey, guys," he said, relieved that they hadn't killed each other. "We've got Duo some tea; he looked pretty cold."

"Thanks, Quatre," the braided young man replied as he accepted the plastic cup from his friend and sipped from it carefully. "You can all come back in; we've finished talking."

Quatre nodded before he returned to the door to let the other two know. The three pilots then took whatever seats they could find, anxious to hear the outcome of the ex-lovers' discussions. Duo wasn't sure what to say, but he was spared the decision as Heero started to speak, his voice still hoarse at the soreness in his throat.

"I've decided," he began before he corrected himself as he reached across for Duo's hand. "_We've_ decided that we want to give our relationship another try." He stopped and looked at Duo as the other man smiled shyly. "I'm sorry guys; I feel like I've let you down but I can't live a lie. I made a grave mistake by letting Duo go three years ago and I've been given a chance to correct it. I won't make another mistake by marrying Relena."

The three pilots exchanged shocked glances; amazed that one sudden meeting could have redirected Heero's life so completely.

"Is that what you want?" Wufei asked, as he started to imagine the fallout from this revelation. "Relena's going to be really upset."

"I think it's safe to say that's the understatement of the year." Quatre replied dryly before he turned to see Duo and Heero gazing at each other adoringly. "But if you're happy then so are we, right guys?"

He received unanimous nods from Trowa and Wufei. Duo's smile was one of relief. The door suddenly opened and the nurse that had brought Heero's effects earlier stuck her head into the room.

"I'm sorry, but Mr Yuy needs to get some rest. You can come back in the morning though."

The other men gestured in acknowledgment and made to leave. "We'll come back tomorrow, Heero," Wufei said with a reassuring smile. "And don't worry, we'll not ring Relena."

Heero nodded gratefully, his eyes lingering on Duo who seemed as reluctant to go as Heero was for him to leave.

"I'll come back too," the American said sincerely, seeing Heero's anxiety at letting him go again. "I promise."

There was an awkward moment before Duo gave into his instincts and leaned into kiss the Japanese man gently on the forehead. "Take it easy, Heero. Sweet dreams."

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note – Nothing to add other than thanks for all the reviews so far!**

**A Night to Remember – What Happened Next.******

Chapter 4

The four ex-gundam pilots left the hospital together, amazed that the place was still so busy at such a late hour.

"We should get back to the hotel," Quatre said; like Heero reluctant to let Duo go when they had only just found him again.

"You're welcome to come and stay at my flat," Duo offered. "It's not far from here although it's probably nowhere near as grand as the hotel you're in and I won't be able to offer you all a proper bed…"

Quatre glanced at the other two, although the answer was already at his lips. "We'd love to."

Duo hailed them a cab, glad that he wasn't going home alone. Wufei paid the driver as they pulled up at the old Victorian property, Duo stepping out first to find his keys. He led his friends up the stone steps, trying not to look at the blood staining the concrete inside the porch. Duo winced as he let the others into his flat, knowing it wasn't exactly tidy.

"Make yourselves at home," he said, kicking a pair of boots out of the way before scooping up a plate of half-eaten pasta. "Sorry about the mess… I er wasn't expecting visitors."

He looked to the other three, all smiling at the state of Duo's place; more than a little reminder of the way he had lived at the safe houses they had hidden out at during the wars.

"So how long have you lived here, Duo?" Trowa asked as they sat down on the sagging leather couch in the living room.

"Since I came to London," the other replied as he moved through to the kitchen, to the fridge. "Can I get anyone a drink?"

Trowa and Wufei took a beer along with Duo as Quatre requested some water. None of them failed to appreciate how differently the night had turned out, but each was secretly pleased that it had. Sitting on a beanbag with barely any beans in it, Duo wrapped his arms tightly around his knees. There was a faraway look in his eyes that told the others he was probably contemplating just where his future lay now that Heero was back in his life.

"Duo?" Quatre asked eventually. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The American shook his head. "No, it's okay. I'll just go and make the camp bed up for Wufei and change the sheets on my bed for you and Trowa."

"Don't put yourself out, Duo…"

"I'm happy on the couch," Duo insisted with a grin as he downed the rest of his beer. "I fall asleep on it most nights anyway."

He disappeared into another room, leaving the others alone.

"Well," Wufei said, running a hand across his smooth hair. "Tonight certainly has been full of surprises."

"Good ones though," Quatre added as the others nodded in agreement.

"I don't think Relena will see it that way," Wufei said with a grimace.

"We'll have to decide what to do tomorrow," Trowa said calmly before he glanced at his watch. "Or later today, I should say."

Duo emerged from his bedroom. "Okay, my bed's ready for you guys. I'll just dig out the camp bed for you, Wufei."

"D'you want a hand?" the Chinese man asked as Duo opened the closet; the storage space equally chaotic as the rest of the flat.

"No, no. I'm fine. Just watch the TV and chill out or something."

When he'd finished ensuring they all had something to sleep on, Quatre was unsuccessfully stifling a yawn. "I think we'll hit the hay," he announced; standing and stretching before he pulled Trowa to his feet. "G'night guys and thanks again for putting us up, Duo."

He walked forward and embraced the long-haired man. "It's truly wonderful to see you again, Duo. We'll talk more in the morning. We've a lot to catch up on."

Duo nodded as the two ex-pilots went into his room and closed the door. Equally tired after an evening at work followed by several hours sitting in a hospital, Duo slumped onto the couch next to Wufei.

There was silence as he undid the end of his braid and began to unravel the weaves of hair. It took a full minute before the seemingly endless brown waves were free; cascading down his back like a huge chocolate coloured blanket that covered his body as he sat hunched across from Wufei.

"I never realised your hair was so long," Wufei said in amazement, having failed to take into account how much braiding caused the length to shorten. "Wow…"

Duo smiled as he began to comb it through with his fingers. "I know I should really get it cut. It's completely impractical but…"

"It's _you_," Wufei finished for him.

Duo nodded, glad that the other man understood and wasn't dismissive of his sentimentality. "Tell me what you've been up to, 'Fei. How's married life?"

Wufei smiled as he thought of his wife. "Wonderful. Fantastic. Brilliant. We've decided to try for a baby."

"That's great," Duo replied, with a broad smile. "I could just tell when we met again before that you were really settled. It shows on your face."

The Chinese man's dark eyebrows knitted together in a mock frown. "Shhhhhh, you won't be doing my fearsome reputation any good."

Duo laughed. "Still with Preventers, huh?"

Wufei gestured in the affirmative. "Would you not consider it? They'd have you like a shot."

The shaking of the head was emphatic. "It might only be bar work but I like it. I feel like I've had enough responsibility to last me a lifetime."

"That's understandable."

"Besides," Duo continued with a wry smile, "I think my future's looking complicated enough without undertaking any major career changes, don't you?"

The ebony-haired man let out a short bark of laughter as he rolled his eyes. "I can't even begin to imagine how Relena is going to take this…"

When there was no response, he looked up to see Duo staring him intently. "D'you think I'm doing the right thing, Wufei? D'you think I should have turned Heero away so he and Relena can live happily ever after?"

After a quick contemplation of the question, Wufei shook his head. "I don't think it would have made any difference. Seeing you obviously told Heero that he wasn't being true to himself and even if you'd have told him where to go, I doubt he would have gone through with the wedding. You may as well give it a shot; see if you can pick up where you left off three years ago."

"Three years is a long time," Duo said doubtfully. "What if we've changed, 'Fei?"

"Then you've probably both changed for the better," he said firmly. "I know I have. And don't feel guilty about Relena."

Duo nodded thoughtfully and smiled. "Thanks, Wufei. It means a lot to know that I'm not disappointing my friends." He frowned, thinking of his prolonged absence. "Again."

Wufei shook his head, not wanting to hear it. "I told you, Duo. We understand that you did what you had to. If anything, I'm disappointed with myself that I didn't try to do more at the time."

Duo smiled, twisting the flowing strands of hair between his fingers. "I don't know if it would have made a difference. Heero wouldn't talk to me about what was worrying him and we were supposed to be in love." He rested his head against the back of the couch and sighed. "I wish I could be sure everything was going to be okay."

Wufei smiled, sensing his friend needed some reassurance. "I think you should just focus on the fact that something incredible has happened here tonight."

Duo frowned, prompting Wufei to explain. "I mean, what are the odds of you two, having not spoken for three years, actually being in the same country, in the same city, in the same _bar_ on the same night?" The Chinese man rolled his eyes, knowing the statistics involved were beyond his comprehension. "If that's not what you'd call fate then I don't know what is."

Now Duo laughed. "I guess you're right. Maybe it's meant to be after all."

"I'd say so."

They smiled at each other before Duo let out an unexpected yawn.

"I think that's our cue to go to bed," Wufei grinned, standing and stretching. "I'll see you in the morning, Duo."

"G'night 'Fei," Duo said as the Chinese man disappeared into the small bedroom he used mainly for storage, before he pulled the blankets over himself and settled back onto the couch. In the morning, he wouldn't be surprised to recall that he'd spent much of the night dreaming of Heero…

The American awoke to the smell of breakfast. Looking over the top of the duvet, he saw Quatre already dressed frying bacon on the stove, and smiled.

"You're supposed to be a guest," he said sleepily, pushing the sleep-mussed hair from his eyes.

"Coffee," Quatre said with a smile, indicating the mug he had left on the coffee table next to Duo's head.

"Thanks," the other replied, reaching out for it and drinking the potent liquid greedily.

"Trowa's getting dressed and Wufei's just finishing up in the bathroom. When you're ready and we've eaten we can get back to the hospital to check on Heero."

Duo sat back, realising for a brief second that he'd forgotten about Heero. They'd agreed to try again, hadn't they? No wonder he'd forgotten about his lover; every other time something like this had happened it had turned out to be nothing more than a dream. He was drawn from his musings as Wufei emerged from the bathroom, smoothing his hair into its usual ponytail.

"Bathroom's free," he announced, giving Duo a smile as he passed, retrieving the cup of tea Quatre had made for him.

"Thanks," Duo replied, climbing out from under the blankets and cracking his knuckles noisily. His endless brown hair trailed after him, leaving the others shaking their head in amazement at its length and condition.

The three pilots were eating breakfast when Duo emerged, hair now braided and half dressed in a faded pair of blue denims. As he wandered around the living room, clearly searching for clothing for his upper body, his three friends marvelled at the large black tribal tattoo that covered his right shoulder blade and spilled across and down his upper arm to join the pattern they had noticed near his elbow the evening before.

"That's some tattoo," Trowa said in admiration as Duo pulled a black t-shirt on over his head. They knew he'd gotten previous decorations before but nothing as extensive as that one.

"Maybe you should get one of those next," Wufei said to Quatre as he took a mouthful of bacon and sausage, the corner of his mouth twitching with a smile.

"Next?" Duo enquired with a frown, wondering what they were talking about.

Quatre duly undid the button on his sleeve and peeled back the material to display his own piece of body art. Duo's eyes went wide.

"Quatre? With a _tattoo_?"

"The very same," Wufei grinned. "Like it?"

"Yeah," Duo said, sitting down at the table to study the design more closely. "It's Arabic, right?"

Quatre nodded. "It's Trowa's name. I did it for a bet."

The American raised an eyebrow. "That was some bet. I hope the prize was worth it."

"There wasn't a prize," Quatre said flatly, although he wasn't too disappointed. His body art was starting to grow on him. In response to Duo's confused expression, the three pilots began to explain about Heero's bachelor night and the tasks they'd arranged for him. Duo laughed as he learnt of Heero's impromptu striptease in the restaurant, Trowa's singing and Wufei's near arrest.

"Sounds like you were having a good night," he commented when they'd finished. "I mean up until the bachelor decided to wander into the wrong end of town that is…"

"He went with good reason," Quatre said firmly, not wanting Duo to blame himself for what had happened. "And I'm sure he'll think it was worth it."

"I hope you're right."

The other pilots nodded with great certainty despite their lingering worries about the 'Relena problem'. As if Duo sensed their thoughts, his expression darkened. "Is someone going to contact Relena today to let her know what's happened? With Heero's injury I mean," he added as an afterthought. "He maybe shouldn't speak to her himself if it's likely to get stressful."

The others clearly agreed. "I think we'd better speak to Heero about what he wants us to do," Quatre said, standing and starting to clear away the breakfast dishes.

"Leave those," Duo said quickly, indicating the plates before he blushed, knowing the others would understand the reason for his haste. When they exchanged knowing glances, he smiled shyly. "Yeah, I wanna see him, okay?"

After telephoning to check they would be allowed to visit, the four men jumped in a cab and headed over to the hospital. Despite his protestations that he was fine, the others observed Duo on the ride across London, fidgeting with uncharacteristic nervousness. He had the air of someone about to go on a first date, even though he had known Heero for most of his teenage years, later intimately. In his hands he clutched a rucksack of clothes, knowing Heero's own garments were ruined and he would need something for when he was eventually released.

"Duo," Quatre said for the third time as he tried to get his companion's attention.

"What? Sorry, Quat."

"Relax. It's just Heero."

"I know," the American replied, twisting his hands in his lap. "It's just gonna take a bit of getting used to that we're back together."

They arrived at the hospital and checked in at the main desk. The receptionist directed them to Heero's room, since he had been moved first thing that morning from the Intensive Care ward he had been admitted to the night before. They took the elevator and waked through several bustling corridors in silence until they found the right place, their expressions morphing into simultaneous frowns at the sound of raised voices coming from further down the corridor. The instinctive emotion was panic; had Heero's condition taken a turn for the worse while they'd been away?

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note – A short chapter but it was hard to find a good place to break off! Thanks again for the reviews Swordy**

**A Night to Remember – What Happened Next**

Chapter 5

They exchanged worried glances before they set off together at a faster pace, knowing the voices were almost certainly coming from Heero's room. The door was open and they raced in to find several hospital personnel standing around the bed. Instead of the medical emergency they were worriedly expecting, they found the doctors and nurses all trying to reason with Heero, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, his expression equally grim.

"What's going on here?" Quatre asked, before the argument could start afresh.

The hospital staff turned at the new interruption. The doctor stepped towards the four men. "And you are…?" he asked.

"We're friends," Quatre replied, the others flanking him in a stance that was unconsciously defensive.

"Well kindly tell Mr Yuy that discharging himself from hospital isn't a good idea."

The ex-pilots all looked simultaneously shocked. "Heero?" Wufei said, looking past the irritated medic. "Is it true?"

Heero nodded, his face still deathly pale. "I'm fine. There's no point me being here."

Duo stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak but Heero filled the air before him, his voice asking for understanding. "She'll find me here if I stay. I need time to think."

The braided man nodded in comprehension, realising Heero's fears.

"He can come and stay with me. I'll look after him."

The doctor's frown intensified as if he was unable to believe there was a second person in the room as crazy as his Japanese patient. "He was stabbed and operated on last night and has been moved from Intensive Care less than an hour ago. Did you not notice what ward he's on? HDU - that means High Dependency Unit, so he's not out of the woods yet. His condition needs careful monitoring to check he's not in danger from internal bleeding and encouraging him to leave hospital is both stupid and irresponsible and I certainly won't…"

"I'll be responsible for him," Duo said firmly. "Give me any medication or dressings he needs and I'll take care of him."

"Duo…" Quatre started to say.

"It's fine," Duo replied, his hand gesture telling his friend that this conversation was at an end. "I'll gladly sign anything that says we went against your explicit wishes."

The doctor looked at the other three men, waiting for one of them to start talking some sense but they remained silent. Separately Heero and Duo were forces to be reckoned with; together they were indomitable. Their friends knew better than to argue.

"This is insane," the doctor said testily, throwing his hands up in despair. "You people are crazy." He turned back to Heero and regarded him coldly. "You'll have to sign some release forms if you're serious about being discharged."

The Japanese man nodded. Seeing there was nothing more he could say, the doctor turned to leave, stopping in front of Duo before he went out.

"Any indication that something's wrong and you're to bring him straight back here, _understood_?"

"Understood," Duo repeated, nodding in agreement as his attention turned to Heero and offered him a small but reassuring smile.

The four pilots waited in the corridor as a nurse redressed Heero's stomach wound and helped him into the clothes they had brought.

"Are you sure about this?" Wufei asked as they waited. The other pilots turned to listen as Duo answered.

"You heard what he said, 'Fei. Relena probably realises something is going on by now and it's only a matter of time before she uses her connections to track him down. You said yourself it's not going to be pleasant. He needs to recover before he has to deal with her."

"But still…"

"Hey… we managed on our own in the wars, right?" Duo said, waiting for someone to try and deny it. "Knife wounds, gun shot wounds, broken bones. Besides, d'you think Heero would listen if we tried to talk him out of it?"

The others shook their heads, knowing he was right.

"It's strange that Relena hasn't called again," Trowa said, his gentle features creasing into a frown. "I know Heero's phone hasn't been on since you used it, Duo but I'd have thought she would have tried one of us again."

"Maybe she's decided to stop nagging him," Duo said dryly.

"More likely she's got official duties and hasn't had time to keep calling," Quatre replied.

They all turned simultaneously as the door opened and the nurse stuck her head out.

"Okay, Mr Yuy's ready to leave now."

The five young men left the hospital together; Duo pushing Heero in a wheelchair until they reached the main entrance. After signing the necessary disclaimer forms, they collected a supply of dressings and antibiotics, which Duo had assured the doctor he could administer intravenously. They caught a black cab back to Duo's flat, telling the driver to take it slow so that Heero was not jolted around on the ride home. He sat pale and grim faced throughout, his arm across his repaired abdomen, all the while assuring the others that he was okay.

When they reached Duo's lodgings, he found himself severely outnumbered when he tried to insist that he didn't need bed rest. And so he was duly ushered into Duo's bed once it was made up with clean sheets and instructed to stay there as the others busied themselves cancelling flights and their other commitments for the week ahead. The antibiotics left Heero drowsy and when he finally went to sleep, Quatre and Trowa returned to their hotel and made arrangements to stay for several more nights. Wufei had offered to stay on Duo's couch and they had all been surprised when the braided man agreed. He had later confided in Quatre that he was nervous about resuming their relationship and didn't want to deal with the 'heavy stuff' as he put it, until Heero was better and it had actually sunk in that they were an item again.

Much later, when Wufei had fallen asleep under a pile of blankets on the couch in front of the movie that he and Duo had been watching together, the American switched off the set and turned out most of the lights before moving through into his bedroom to check on Heero before he went to bed himself. Heero was sleeping peacefully, his features illuminated by the lamp next to the bed. Duo yawned and moved closer, admiring the beauty of the man he had always loved before he reached down and gently pulled back the blankets. He smiled at the t-shirt Heero wore; one of his own bearing the slogan '_South London Cow Tipping Association_'. Carefully, he lifted it up to reveal the dressing, which he peeled back so he could examine the healing wound. Relieved to see that it showed no sign of infection, he taped the dressing back in place and readjusted the blankets. Heero stirred as he did so, his bright blue eyes blinking open sleepily.

"Hey," Duo said with a smile.

Heero yawned deeply and returned the expression, his eyes fixed firmly on the other man. "Come and lie down with me, Duo."

"But, your wound… I don't want to injure you any further."

His own nervousness surprised him and Heero sensed it. "I know this is hard, Duo," he said gently. "And I don't mean to rush you. I just wanted to be close to you for a bit."

Duo's expression softened and he moved forward. When Heero opened his arms, Duo lay down carefully beside him and melted into the embrace. They lay there in silence for a while, their rhythmic breathing the only sound. Eventually Heero reached up and stroked Duo's chestnut bangs away from his eyes.

"Thank you, Duo."

Duo frowned, shifting slightly so he could see Heero better. "For what?"

"For this. For giving me a second chance. Thank you."

Duo smiled, unable to imagine not giving Heero that chance. His anger at being pushed away had long since left him; all that had remained was the pain at being apart from the man he loved and this was also a chance for him to dispel that hurt.

The gentle breathing beneath him told Duo that Heero had fallen back asleep and he could feel himself growing drowsy. The last thing he remembered thinking was that he should really go and get in the camp bed he had made up for himself before he fell into a peaceful slumber with Heero's arms still wrapped around him.

The daylight beaming through the gap in the curtains was what woke him the next morning. Duo sat up, carefully slipping from Heero's embrace so as not to wake the sleeping man. He pushed his sleep mussed hair out of his face and yawned, stretching the stiffened muscles of his arms and back. He could hear someone moving around outside and he guessed it was Wufei. The Chinese man had volunteered to go and buy some clothes for Heero but obviously hadn't left yet judging by the sounds coming from the other room. Duo suddenly felt self-conscious, knowing his friend would see him coming out of Heero's room after he had stressed that they were going to take the newly resumed relationship slowly.

He stood, and after checking Heero was still sound asleep, pulled off his t-shirt and found a new one to change into. He was still tugging it on over his head as he opened the bedroom door and stepped out, his joker's mask in place to hide his embarrassment.

"Hey, 'Fei. I'm not smelling breakfast! Man, I shoulda told Quatre to stay. He'd have made a full English by now!"

He frowned at the lack of response, wondering if the other man hadn't heard him as he moved through into the living room and the source of the movement he had heard from his bedroom.

"Oy, 'Fei!" he said cheerfully, rounding the corner before he stopped dead in his tracks, his smile disappearing as fast as his good mood. The Chinese man was nowhere to be seen, but in the same place Duo had left him sleeping last night, now sat Relena, her posture formal as she looked up at him and smiled.

"Hello, Duo," she said, although the smile never met her steely blue eyes. "Long time no see."

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note – One more chapter to go after this…**

**A Night to Remember – What Happened Next.******

Chapter 6

For a long time Duo couldn't respond. Still smiling, Relena looked him up and down, taking in his ripped jeans, creased t-shirt and messy hair, half in, half out of its braid with apparent delight. Her expression of condescension was fully realised when he folded his arms across his chest revealing the extensive tattoo on his right arm.

"You look… well."

Self-consciously smoothing over his messy hair he tried to decide which of the million and one questions he should ask first, eventually settling for: "How did you get into my flat?"

Relena smiled sweetly. "I persuaded one of your neighbours to let me in at the main door and then, well… let's just say it's not just gundam pilots that are taught to pick locks. Just in case I get kidnapped don't you know," she finished, sounding mighty pleased with herself as she showed him her tool of the trade.

"You do realise that's breaking and entering," he replied coolly, walking past her and going into the kitchen. She stood quickly and followed after him.

"So try and get me arrested. Who in their right mind would think the queen of Sanque would be breaking into someone's home?" She wrinkled her nose distastefully at the dirty dishes and used teabags on the counter. "Let's face it; a burglar would deserve a medal for _finding _anything worth stealing in here."

Duo glared at her as he grabbed a mug and succeeded in toppling a stack of pans which clattered loudly on the metal draining board. He switched on the kettle and stood staring out of the window as he restacked the pans, wishing she'd just go away and wondering again how she'd found them. "Well excuse me, but I don't recall inviting you in so why don't you do me a favour and piss off?"

"I think you know why I'm here."

Duo stopped what he was doing and turned to face her, his hand on his hips. He tried to gauge her expression and concluded that obviously she knew what was going on. "Maybe I don't. Isn't this just a social call? I thought you perhaps wanted to say thanks again to me for saving your butt during the wars."

"Don't be facetious, Duo."

"By 'facetious' you of course mean devilishly handsome?"

Relena glowered at him darkly, hating the way he could still infuriate her completely.

"You won't win, Duo," she said after a moment's silence. "He's mine and he always will be."

Something strange was going on, Duo decided. How had she found them and why was she not surprised to see him?

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said flatly. He wasn't going to be the one to break the news of his and Heero's relationship, if it _was_ news. His suspicions were confirmed when she laughed.

"You think I don't _know_ about you two?" she drawled condescendingly. "Oh God, Duo, don't be so naïve!" She closed the distance between them, her mouth curled into a devilish smile. "I knew about you two long ago. Why did you think I turned up at Heero's college? You didn't think that was a coincidence, did you? You had what I wanted and I wasn't about to let you win. You've always gotten in my way, Duo Maxwell, _always_ but I always seem to win in the end, don't I? Even when Heero started to look for you I managed to use my power and influence to keep him away from you." Her expression was angry as she studied his handsome face, trying to understand why Heero would choose him over her and all she had to offer. He was about to reply when the squeak of the hinge on his bedroom door told him that Heero was up. Relena heard it too and they both left the kitchen together.

"Duo, I…." Heero started to say, his arm still pressed to his stomach as if the wound would burst open and his entrails would fall out if he didn't. When he saw Relena, his previously sleepy half-lidded eyes went wide.

"Relena, you're…"

"Here? Yes, I know," she replied, studying his drawn features and shuffling gait. The Machiavellian twinkle in her eye, reserved entirely for Duo and other people she felt were beneath her, suddenly disappeared and she rushed forward and embraced the Japanese man gently.

"Oh darling, what happened to you?"

"It doesn't matter," Heero replied, meeting Duo's eyes as he gazed over the top of her head. "Relena, we need to talk."

She pulled away and the innocence of her expression made Duo want to retch. "If this is about Duo coming to the wedding then I really don't mind…"

"It's not," Heero said quickly, "Because there isn't going to be a wedding. I'm sorry, Relena, but I just can't go through with it."

Her eyes, those wide pools of blue, suddenly filled with moisture. _Crocodile tears_, Duo thought darkly.

"I… I don't understand, Heero. Everyone has last minute nerves…"

"No," he said, shaking his head firmly. "This has nothing to do with nerves. This is about me being true to myself and stopping living a lie."

Relena stepped back from him and turned to face Duo, her expression suddenly angry. "Is this about him?" she said, pointing at the man in question. "Has he told you not to do it? He never liked me Heero; he never thought I was good enough for his best friend."

Duo rolled his eyes, almost wanting to laugh at this innocent act she was putting on. Heero however clearly believed it.

"Relena, I think we should sit down. I need to explain a few things."

The young woman stood frozen for a moment before she petulantly went and sat back down on the couch. She looked first and Heero, then at Duo.

"Don't you think you should leave?" she snapped. "Give us some privacy?"

Heero responded first. "Duo stays."

"Fine," Relena huffed and folded her arms across her chest defensively.

Clearly in pain, Heero edged over to the armchair and lowered himself into it gingerly. He sighed, wondering how he could minimise his fiancée's pain with how he phrased what he was about to say. In the end, he decided to start at the beginning; hoping that Relena would see that this wasn't just a spur of the moment decision.

"At the end of the Mariemaia incident, when the gundams were destroyed, I had no idea what I was going to do with myself. I thought being your bodyguard would fill that void but it didn't and as you know I took off, searching for a new life. The guys were worried about me and Duo insisted that I come and stay with him for a while, until I got myself sorted out. As you know, I eventually started at college."

Relena nodded, remembering her delight at being close to Heero again.

"What you didn't know," Heero said, glancing across at the American, "Was that me and Duo were more than friends."

Relena did a superior job of looking stunned. "Wha… what do you mean? Lovers?"

Heero gestured in the affirmative. "I'm ashamed that I was too embarrassed to admit it at the time. I loved Duo and he loved me but I believed other people's opinions when they said two men being together was wrong." He stopped suddenly and cast Relena an angry glance. "I don't recall you saying any different either."

For a moment Duo thought Relena was about to argue back but her expression changed to one that indicated she was verging on tears. "Well I guess we're both guilty of letting peer pressure get to us then, aren't we? Do you know how hard it was to fit in when people know who you are? At least you had anonymity. I'm not against homosexuality, Heero, but I agreed with them because the majority of my friends were. I'm sorry."

She looked so genuinely contrite that Heero felt bad about snapping at her. Duo however wasn't fooled, but he sensed it was wise to stay out of it for now. Not that keeping his silence was easy for the young man who had always made a point of saying what he thought.

"Well anyway," Heero continued. "I pushed Duo away because I thought we were doing something wrong. He left and moved away, making sure that I couldn't find him and I deserved that, I know. But last night, I found him purely by chance and… well it's made me realise that I haven't been true to myself for a long time now." He looked up from his hands and forced himself to meet Relena's wide eyes. "I'm so sorry, Relena, but I can't live a lie anymore. I love Duo and… I want to be with him."

Relena immediately turned to glare at Duo, who was managing to retain a neutral expression despite his feelings of triumph towards a woman to whom he owed nothing.

"_You_," she said viciously. "What have you _done_ to him? You've warped his mind and made him sick, like you! Why can't you bear to see him happy?"

So much for tolerance, Duo thought, unable to stay quiet any longer. "Oh, give it a rest, Relena, and stop acting all surprised. You're not fooling anyone so why don't you piss off back to Sanque where you belong?"

"Duo!" Heero said, shocked. "Try and be a bit compassionate. This can't be easy for her."

"Heero, wake up for Christ's sake! She knew exactly what was going on. She's playing you for a fool."

Relena stood quickly, as if she was about to square up for a fight. Her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides. "You say he loves you and this is how he speaks to you, Heero! Have you lost your mind?"

Duo opened his mouth to shout something back before he glimpsed Heero's deathly pale face and reined in his anger.

"Look," he said calmly, "this isn't the time for yelling at each other. Heero needs to rest."

"He _should _be in hospital but I suppose it was your idea to bring him here."

Duo rolled his eyes and threw up his hands in frustration, knowing it was pointless trying to reason with her. "I think you should go."

"Fine," she snapped, jabbing her finger in Duo's direction. "But I'll be back. And then I want a decision." Heero was about to speak, tell her it was unnecessary because the decision was already made, when she continued. "Heero comes home with me and forgets about this ridiculous affair… or the anonymity of the five pilots will no longer be upheld."

She waited to check they understood what she was saying but the message was loud and clear.

"Oh, _wonderful_," Duo growled, violet eyes flashing with anger. "Blackmail! That's really original, Relena."

Relena stepped closer to him and gave a sly smile that Heero couldn't see. "I take it by 'original' you of course mean stunningly beautiful?"

"Out." Duo said calmly, pointing at the door.

Relena ignored him and moved to stand in front of Heero. "_Please_, darling," she said, crouching down to bring them eye to eye. "I don't want to have to do this but I don't want to lose you, Heero. I'll give you time to think but I'll be back tomorrow and I _want_ an answer. I won't be made to look a fool."

She looked so hurt that Heero nodded numbly. Seeing his agreement, she stood and walked towards the door, shooting Duo an angry glare as she passed. When she'd gone, Duo crossed the room and knelt in front of Heero.

"Come on," he said smiling gently at his lover to try and ease the unbearable tension in the room, "You should get back to bed now the Wicked Witch of the East's gone." He reached out to touch Heero's cheek but the Japanese man pulled away.

"Don't…."

"Heero…?"

"She doesn't deserve this, Duo."

Duo felt his heart sink, certain that he was about to be hurt again. "Are you saying you've changed your mind?"

"No!" Heero said fiercely, shocked that Duo would think that after the promises he'd made him mere hours earlier. "I love _you_, Duo, but I don't want to hurt her."

Duo looked down at his hands for a moment and sighed, knowing it was pointless getting angry. "She's going to blackmail us, Heero, or did you miss that part of the conversation?"

"She won't…"

Duo raised one chestnut eyebrow, clearly not so sure. "She looked pretty serious."

Heero did a slow blink. He wasn't in any fit state to making life changing decisions so Duo didn't push the issue any further.

"Come on, bed."

The Japanese man didn't argue as Duo helped him to his feet. Once he was back in bed with a further dose of painkillers he seemed to come to slightly, watching Duo as he moved around the room putting away clothes, his features etched in a permanent frown.

"Talk to me, Duo," he said softly.

The American put down the pair of jeans he was holding and sat down on the floor near the top of the bed.

"What d'you want me to say? You heard Relena, Heero. She said '_the five pilots_'; she's bringing the others into it."

"Because she knows what they've got to lose," Heero replied quietly. "Quatre and Trowa would undoubtedly lose business. Even those that supported the gundams would be unnerved to find out that they'd been deceived for so long about the Winner name."

"What about Wufei? At least the Preventers know his history."

Heero sighed deeply, wishing it were so straightforward. "Wufei's a field agent. If his identity's public knowledge then his role is compromised. Relena knows what damage it will cause us them. She's using our friendship as a bargaining chip."

Duo dropped his head into his hands, a muffled curse emerging from between his fingers. "We can't do it to them, Heero. This isn't their problem."

"I know, but…"

"But nothing," Duo said flatly. "You'll have to go home with her."

Heero looked horrified at the suggestion. "I… I can't, Duo. I want to be with you."

"We'll work something out," Duo replied, pushing his braid over his shoulder and standing quickly. "Maybe after a few months of marriage, Relena will choose to let you go when she sees your heart isn't in it."

"But…"

"Just get some rest, Heero. Like I said, we'll work something out."

Duo left the bedroom and wandered through into the living room. He went to the window, half expecting Relena to still be there but the street was empty, aside from a man sitting on the wall opposite the property Duo lived in. When he saw the twitch of the blinds, the man casually folded up the newspaper he was reading and sauntered away. Duo frowned and stepped away from the window. His thoughts then turned to work and he picked up the phone and dialled his friend's number.

"Greg?" he said as it was answered. "It's Duo."

"Oh hey," Greg replied, anxious that Duo might be mad at him for giving out his address. "How's things?"

"They're okay but I've got a bit of sore throat so I won't be in work tonight."

"Really? Your voice sounds fine to me."

Duo sighed. "Yeah well, that was a lousy excuse. Cover for me okay?"

"Sure. So did he find you then?"

"Who?"

"The Japanese guy."

"Oh yeah…. Yeah he did."

"Are you mad with me?"

"No. Honestly I'm not. But I've got stuff I need to work out so will you tell the boss I'm sick?"

Greg said that he would and they ended the call. Several hours passed with Duo pacing the flat in something of a stupor. The couch made a 'whoosh' sound as he eventually flopped onto it and he made a similar sighing noise, as he tried to straighten out the events of the last twenty four hours in his mind. Heero, then the guys, then Relena; it was as if his past had finally caught up with him and wasn't prepared to let him go. He was half expecting Howard and the Sweepers to walk through the door at any moment so when the doorbell rang, Duo jumped at the coincidence and although he wouldn't have minded seeing his old war buddies again, he was slightly relieved to find the three pilots stood on his landing when he opened the door.

"Hey," Wufei said in greeting as the three trouped through into the flat. "I got Yuy some clothes."

"Great," Duo replied glumly.

"Duo, what's wrong?" Quatre asked, seeing the other's downcast expression.

"We've had a visitor."

"Who?" the three said almost simultaneously.

"Relena."

Their expressions ranged from shock to worry as Duo closed the door behind them.

"I knew it was strange that she stopped calling," Wufei growled, his dark eyebrows knitted together.

"What did she say?" Trowa asked. "Did she see Heero?"

Duo nodded but didn't answer until he had stuck his head around the bedroom door to check that Heero was sleeping.

"She was her usual bitchy self," Duo said, making no attempt to hold back his bitterness. "She pretended she had no idea about Heero and me and that I was just trying to put Heero off marrying her because I didn't like her."

Quatre frowned. "But I thought she _didn't_ know about you and Heero?"

"Didn't we all? But she just told me as much. How she'd followed Heero to college with the intention of getting him away from me and how she'd stopped Heero from tracking me down after I left."

"By Allah, Duo," Quatre exclaimed. "What did Heero say about that?"

Duo let out a short bark of humourless laughter. "Oh, she wasn't stupid enough to say all that in front of Heero. That was for my ears only. Heero told her about us and I'll admit it, her reaction was very convincing. If I hadn't known different, then I'd have thought she'd only just found out about us too. He was more worried about hurting her."

"So then what?" Wufei asked, knowing that the question of what happened next was still unanswered. The hesitancy of the response told them Duo was battling with his 'never tell a lie' policy and they waited patiently, knowing that despite his reluctance, he would tell them anyway.

"She gave us an ultimatum," he said eventually.

"Which was?" Wufei asked ominously, glancing at the other two pilots.

Duo sighed. "Heero goes home with her and forgets any of this ever happened or… she'll tell the world who the gundam pilots were."

"_What_?"

"She wouldn't…."

"Oh, Allah…"

Duo nodded, wishing it wasn't true. "Heero's told me what that would mean to each of you so we've decided to agree to her demands." He smiled sadly. "We'll try to keep in touch and Heero will do his best to try and push her away so that she lets him go eventually. Maybe we'll be together again one day."

"Oh, Duo," Quatre said, as he stepped forward to pull his friend into a firm embrace. "This seems so unfair."

"Yeah… shit happens I guess." Duo pulled away, his attempt at bravado never reaching his expressive violet eyes that glistened with sadness. "I'd better go and check on Heero." He paused before his next comment but decided to say it anyway. "I'm gonna stay with him tonight. It might be the last chance we get to be together for a while."

He didn't look at the others as he turned and headed towards his bedroom but he could hear them talking quietly as he lay down beside his lover. Heero stirred, his arm instinctively coming to rest across Duo's chest.

"We need to work out what we're going to do," he said sleepily.

"Ssshhhhhhh," Duo replied, turning slightly and stroking Heero's pale cheek. "It doesn't matter. Let's just make the best of the time we've got left."

Duo was surprised to see a tear squeeze from between Heero's tightly closed eyes. "I don't want to let you go, Duo. I can't be without you. Not again."

"I've told you, we'll work something out," Duo whispered, battling to keep his own tears at bay as he wiped the moisture away. "She can't win forever."

Eyes closed, their lips met; a delicate dance communicating tender emotions unexpressed for too long. Despite the separation, their knowledge of each other was still intimate, negating the need to explain what they wanted from each other. Only when their darkening desire demanded more physical participation did Duo pull away.

"You're recovering, Heero. I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't care. If I'm not going to be with you for a while then I need to be with you now."

Duo couldn't say no. His heart and his body longed for Heero and he knew instantaneously that he wouldn't deny his soul the pleasure. Soon their actions were the height of intimacy, with Duo controlling the motions as they moved together in perfect harmony. Their lovemaking was tender and surprisingly unhurried with only a matter of hours before they were due to be separated again. In that moment however, nothing seemed to matter other than each other. Relena couldn't truly come between them. Eventually they fell asleep, sated and content in a tangle of limbs. There was a slightly unrealistic feel to their situation; as if while they were reaffirming their love the world had ceased to exist beyond the confines of the bedroom door, and as he drifted towards his dreams, Duo drew a sense of comfort from it, happy to stay in this somnolent half-life if it meant he could be with Heero.

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note – Well, it's done. Thanks for all your reviews and look out for more re-posted Gundam fics soon! **

**A Night to Remember – What Happened Next.******

Chapter 7

The morning was soon upon them, kickstarting the world, which rumbled back into existence and destroyed their blissful bedroom-based paradise. Outside the barrier to that chaos, also known as the bedroom door, Duo could hear movement and talking as he slipped out of Heero's arms with a regretful sigh. The voices sounded anxious and Duo then felt bad that he had left his friends the day before with the horrible news of Relena's threats. Seeing Heero still asleep, he quickly pulled on some clothes and tried to tidy up his fringe by raking his fingers through it. He looked rough, but it would have to do.

He opened the bedroom door and was surprised to find the curtains still drawn and the three pilots sat in darkness.

"Guys? Why haven't you opened the…?"

"Don't!" the three men said with almost perfect synchronisation as Duo headed towards the window. He froze in his tracks, his violet eyes reflecting his confusion.

"What's going on, guys?"

Wufei motioned for him to move away from the window. When he did as instructed, Quatre began to explain why they were sat in the darkness.

"There are some reporters outside. About an hour ago there were only one or two, now there are about ten or twelve. One of your neighbours came up a short while ago to say they were asking for you. We've been to the other flats and told everyone that's home not to let them in. Needless to say your neighbours were wanting to know what's going on."

"And what _is_ going on?" Duo asked in frustration, his fingers weaved into his hair before his expression changed, indicating that he had thought of something. "But I bet it's got something to do with Relena."

"You're probably right," Quatre agreed.

"What should we do?" Trowa said, glancing at his anxious lover before his intense green stare moved to Duo.

The American pulled his braid over his shoulder and toyed with the end of it as he shrugged. "She said she was coming back today so I guess we just sit tight and see what happens."

As the hours passed, the crowd outside Duo's building grew steadily larger, the rumble of conversation filtering though into the near silent flat. The intercom buzzed almost constantly but the four pilots ignored it, with Duo periodically checking on Heero to see that the interruption hadn't woken him from his much-needed rest. Fortunately, his medication ensured that he remained oblivious to the buzz of excitement going on outside but as the crowd swelled to over twenty, and then forty the pilots realised that something was going to happen, and soon.

They realised that that 'something' was starting when, several hours later, the murmurs of conversation turned to calling and shouting. The evening dusk was suddenly lit up by a hundred flashbulbs; their glare penetrating through the curtains and causing the four pilots to leave their seats, instinctively wanting to know what had caused the sudden flurry of activity. Their suspicions were answered by some of the shouts that filtered through the general cacophony of noise.

"Queen Relena! Can you tell us what you're doing here in London?"

"Your Majesty! Is this an official visit?"

"Queen Relena!"

Trowa moved to wall, pressing his body flat against it. In that position, he managed to look out of the window without disturbing the curtains too much. "She's coming up the steps," he announced to the others.

"We'd better let her in," Duo said flatly, knowing that if they antagonised her by keeping her outside, she would probably blab their secret anyway. Part of him, that little voice that tried to override his conscience, told him that might be a good thing; at least then Heero would have no reason to go with her. But the others… he couldn't do it to them. When the intercom buzzed again, he went over to it and lifted the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Duo, it's Relena. Let me in."

Duo bit down on his anger at being ordered around. He didn't respond; merely pressed the button and replaced the receiver. "Here goes," he said to the others, rolling his eyes as they awaited the knock at the door.

When she arrived, she strode into the flat, not surprised or intimidated by the presence of the other pilots. "Brought backup?" she sneered at Duo as he closed the door behind her.

"Relena," Quatre said, stepping forward to assume his role as the peacemaker. "Please tell us what Duo says isn't true. You wouldn't release the identities of the gundam pilots would you?"

Relena cocked her head to one side and smiled. "Dear, sweet Quatre. I'd have thought you if anyone would have understood, being the powerful business man that you are. I can't look weak and I'll do what I can to ensure that I get my own way. The people want a strong ruler, after all."

"They also want a ruler with integrity," Quatre countered angrily.

Relena furnished him with a condescending look before she turned back to Duo. "So have you decided then?"

Duo wanted to smash her face in and make a necklace out of her teeth. Instead, he nodded slowly, filled with self loathing at his powerlessness. "Very clever of you to bring all those journalists. Guess you wanted us to know you were serious, huh?"

"What them?" she said going over to the window and parting the curtains slightly. Instantly, the darkening sky was awash with flashbulbs firing. "I didn't tell them. I can see why you'd think that though." She let the curtains fall back into place and turned to face the assembled men, her pretty features split by an ugly smile.

"So, is Heero mine?"

"He's not a commodity!" Wufei growled in disbelief. "And after everything he did for you, I think he deserves a little more respect, don't you?"

"Heero deserves nothing!" She snapped back. "He's a confused man who should consider himself lucky that I'm prepared to take him back at all."

"Then why do you pursue him when he clearly doesn't want to be with you?" Quatre said quietly, struggling to contain his white-hot anger.

"Because believe it or not, I want to make it work with him. I was attracted to him the moment I saw him and I _know_ he felt the same. Well, until _he_ came along."

"That's ridiculous," Duo interjected rolling his eyes.

"Then why didn't he kill me when he had the chance?" Relena replied triumphantly. "I was a danger to him and his mission. The best thing he could have done was kill me but he _didn't_."

"Don't we know it," Duo grumbled, causing her to glare at him with ill-disguised contempt.

After a tense pause, broken only by the insistent buzzing of the intercom, Relena addressed her rival once again. "You still haven't answered my question, Duo. Is Heero mine?"

With a leaden heart, Duo opened his mouth to respond.

"No."

The braided man swung around at the response spoken simultaneously by his three companions. Each wore a resolute expression that told of the certainty of their decision. Relena studied them for a moment before she shook her head sadly. "Well I guess you leave me no choice," she said, answering the intercom when it buzzed again. "This is Relena, Queen of the Sanque Kingdom," she said to whichever journalist had decided to try their luck. "You can tell everyone waiting out there that there will be an announcement in exactly five minutes that I'm certain none of you will want to miss."

She replaced the receiver and gazed at the four men. "Last chance to change your minds."

"Guys," Duo said ignoring her as he turned to his friends. "I can't let you do this."

"No," Quatre said, checking with Trowa and Wufei, who nodded their approval, before he went on. "This is our decision. We were comrades during the wars and would have done anything to protect each other then so why should now be any different? This is just a different kind of war."

"That need to protect is exactly why I won't let you do this," Duo answered firmly. "There's no other option."

Duo turned to follow the direction of his friends' gazes to see Heero stood at his bedroom door, listening intently to everything that was being said. "Duo's right. This isn't your problem, guys."

"Heero," Wufei said, walking over to his Japanese companion and placing his hands on his shoulders. "If we let her win this time, then who says she won't use the threat of revealing our identities next time she wants something?"

"But…"

"Come on. Let's get you dressed." The Chinese man smiled, indicating his confidence at what they were about to do. "If we're going to be big news, then we may as well look our best."

The two disappeared into Duo's bedroom leaving Trowa, Quatre and Duo alone with Relena, who glared at the men in disbelief. "What! You're bluffing! Just think what this will do to your lives!"

"It'll be no worse than knowing we'd sent Heero home with you," Quatre replied quietly. When Heero and Wufei emerged, the Chinese man nodded to his companions that they were ready. Heero looked pale but his eyes displayed the fierce determination that he had been famous for during the wars.

"Let's go then," Quatre announced.

Instantly, Relena was in the doorway, blocking their exit. "What do you think you're doing?" Her eyes blazed furiously.

"Calling your bluff," Wufei said flatly as they stepped past her and headed downstairs. "We're going to tell then world that we're the gundam pilots." He paused and offered the shocked looking young woman a wry smile. "Then we'll tell them how the Queen of Sanque tried to blackmail people that would have given their lives to help defend her cause."

"Wait!" she cried. "You can't!"

"Why not?" Wufei replied furiously. "You were going to do it yourself two minutes ago."

The power shift had overwhelmed Relena completely and she didn't respond; each sentence she tried to start, sticking in her throat. In the end, Quatre stepped up to her and shook his head sadly.

"You're a good ruler, Relena. You've done wonderful things to bring peace to the world and Sanque has prospered under your guidance but I fear wielding such power has gone to your head if you think it's acceptable to try and bully people in this way. You need stopping… before you try this with someone who is more easily intimidated than us."

Before she could respond, the front door suddenly opened, exposing them, unprepared for the awaiting journalists. Duo's neighbour, an older lady in her fifties, frowned at him in annoyance as she let herself in. "Mr Maxwell? Do you know what's going on here?" she tried to say, but her voice was drowned out by the frenzied media, sensing that the moment of announcement was here. Not wanting to be part of whatever was going on, she scuttled away up the stairs.

The five men with Relena standing behind them, found themselves blinded by flashbulbs as the mass of bodies surged forward. There were live television cameras and every reporter shouted their question, trying to make themselves heard above the cacophony of voices. Realising they needed to take the lead, particularly with Heero who desperately needed to be back in bed, Wufei stepped forward and signalled for quiet. They would get this over with as quickly as possible and deal with the consequences later, when Heero was better.

"We would like to make an announcement," he said loudly, turning and glancing at Relena, who appeared to too stunned to say anything. Too stunned to tell him to stop. "Every so often, there is speculation as to the identity of the pilots of the gundams that played a part in the wars. We have decided to end this speculation here and now and so we will take this opportunity to reveal our identities. We are the gundam pilots. I am Chang Wufei, the pilot known as 05."

There were murmurs of amazement as the photographers crowded forward to take his picture. Tomorrow, the newspapers would be filled with pictures of the stoic-looking young man stood beside his four companions. Trowa next stepped forward and announced his identity. When Quatre took his place, the journalists seemed to go into a frenzy, already familiar with the famous businessman and wondering what part he could have played in the war.

"My name is Quatre Raberba Winner and I am the pilot known as 04."

"A _pilot?_" went the murmurs. "_Quatre__ Winner was an actual pilot_?"

The reporters excitedly tried to ask him a whole barrage of questions but Quatre pointedly ignored them as Duo stepped forward. In Chiquitos, Greg was serving a customer when one of his colleagues pointed to the television screen behind the bar.

"Hey, isn't that Duo?"

"_Duo_?" Someone else said. "What's he doing on the news?"

"I though he was sick," Andy the manager said, looking squarely at Greg.

Greg ignored both his boss and the customer now demanding his change. "Turn it up, will you?" he snapped, eager to find out what was going on.

"My name is Duo Maxwell. I was Pilot 02," Duo said, giving a mock salute to the assembled media and the millions watching on TV sets all over the world, although his expression remained solemn. He felt a surge of protectiveness as a pale and exhausted Heero stepped forward and revealed himself to another surge of flashbulbs and frenzied questioning. Everyone remembered 01's instrumental actions during the wars and were stunned to learn this frail individual could be the pilot in question.

"Why have you chosen to reveal your identities?" someone asked, their voice picking through a lull in the noise. The five pilots exchanged glances before Wufei answered, his strong personality marking him out as the spokesperson for them.

"We have recently received a threat from someone who knows our identities. Our punishment for non-compliance was that they would tell the world who we really are. We decided that we didn't want to live with this secret hanging over us any more."

"What does this have to do with Queen Relena?" someone asked.

All eyes were on the blonde, standing behind the five pilots. Her expression was one of defeat; this was the moment where she would be ruined. As she looked up, she caught Duo's eye. _Happy?__ You've won_, her eyes seemed to say as she gazed at him, standing protectively next to Heero. She didn't deserve his pity but when he saw her look at Heero, Duo could see that underneath her acidic experience-hardened rudeness, she did truly love him and letting him go was as bad as losing it all. Pain, longing, the realisation that she would never have what she wanted.

For the first time, Duo felt like he was seeing the real Relena; the girl with responsibility thrust onto her from too early an age. Being in love had given her a chance to be a normal teenager and now that was gone. From now on, suitors would always see her as Relena the ruler; who would always be expected to put her royal duties first. She had proved to be a good ruler since she had come to power and suddenly, Duo didn't want to be responsible for taking that away from her too. When he saw Wufei about to answer the reporter's question, he stepped forward quickly, drawing the crowd's attention to him instead.

"Relena is involved…" he said quickly, forcing Wufei into silence as the other pilots watched him curiously. "Because she came to warn us about the threat. The Queen of Sanque has protected our identities since the end of the war and although we will be grateful for everything she has done, we have decided to end our reliance on her. By being open about who we are, we can get on with our lives without worrying that someone will expose us."

He could feel the others looking at him but he ignored their stares. "That's all we're prepared to say now so I suggest you all go home. Thank you."

He turned and started to usher the others back in the front door, Relena too. Once safely inside, Wufei turned to the braided man, still holding Heero gently by the elbow. "What happened then, Duo? I thought we were…"

"Leave it, Wufei, _please_? Look, can you guys take Heero up to my flat. I want to talk to Relena."

Quatre now took the lead, sensing that this was something that Duo needed to deal with on his own. He nudged Wufei, who put his arm around the weary Japanese man's shoulders and guided him up the stairs. Before long, the braided ex-pilot was alone in the hallway with the woman who had sabotaged his future with no hint of regret.

"Why did you do that, Duo?" she asked, watching him warily. "Why did you not take the opportunity to ruin me? You would have won. You already have Heero and you could have finished me as a respected leader."

He shrugged, not entirely sure himself. "It isn't about winning and losing Relena; it never was. I love Heero and always have. I lost him because he was confused and people took advantage of that. I don't blame you for that. Heero is a strong individual and capable of making his own decisions and he ultimately decided to push me away, just as he decided that he now regretted that decision and wanted us to try again. I've never made him do anything, Relena."

The girl ruler studied him for a moment before she lowered her eyes. "I know. And yet somehow, you've always had a hold over him. Even during the wars, the brief moments I got with him were spent listening to him talk about you. He was always trying to figure you out. It was obvious even then that he loved you; he just didn't realise it."

Duo nodded, appreciating her honesty as he started up the stairs.

"I wanted him to love me in the same way," she went on. "I wanted him to look at me the way he looked at you. I thought if I got you apart, his love for you would fade in time. Although he agreed to marry me in the end, I knew he didn't really love me. It was always about you, Duo."

There was a moment of silence as the two rivals for the Japanese man's feelings regarded each other. "So what happens now?" Relena asked quietly, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear.

Duo shrugged. "Nothing. I'm not interested in blackmailing you, Relena. I just want to get on with my life in peace." He rolled his eyes. "Not that that's likely with the whole world finding out we're gundam pilots."

Duo was surprised when Relena looked genuinely contrite. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I guess I'm not as mature as I like to think I am."

"It doesn't matter," Duo said, suddenly eager to get back to Heero. "It'll die down eventually. Goodbye Relena. I hope you find someone who truly makes you happy."

He left her on the stairs as he entered his flat and closed the door behind him. The others were waiting, their expressions anxious about what had happened. For his part, Duo felt guilty; they'd been forced into a confession and he had let their enemy get away scot-free. He wouldn't blame them for being angry with him. Heero was nowhere to be seen; presumably the pale-faced invalid had been sent back to bed the moment they were inside.

"Are you okay, Duo?" Quatre asked, clearly concerned that the braided man had been gone a while. "Where's Relena?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, she's gone," he replied distractedly. "Look, guys. I'm really sorry about what just happened back there. I dunno… despite all her bitching, I could just tell she really did love Heero. I know what it's like to lose someone you love, so ruining her reputation too just seemed like kicking her when she was down." He frowned suddenly. "Jeez, I can't believe I'm defending her." Violet eyes lifted, prepared for anger.

"Duo, it's _okay_," Quatre said firmly, placing a hand on Duo's shoulder as Trowa and Wufei nodded their agreement.

"But your business," he argued, looking first at Quatre then to Trowa before he gestured to Wufei. "Your job at Preventers."

Quatre was shaking his head. "To be honest, I've always hated the secrecy. I'm glad we'll be able to do business on an honest footing now."

Trowa was agreeing as Wufei stepped forward to reassure their troubled friend. "As for my job; I'd already decided to step down from field work when we'd started trying for a baby. I can't put myself in dangerous situations anymore if I've got a family to think of. My transfer request is ready to be submitted as soon as I'm back in work."

Duo studied them for a moment, needing to know they weren't just trying to make him feel better. When he saw no sign of deception he smiled.

"Thanks, guys. I guess we need to show 'em that we're not ashamed of what we were so… will someone be able to look after Heero if I go back to work tomorrow?"

There were three simultaneous nods as Quatre answered. "I don't think any of us has anything to rush home for," he said glancing at Wufei who agreed, before stating that Sally had gone staying at her sister's for the week. "We'll stay and ride this one out together, okay?"

Duo's grin widened at the offer of support. Once again, he was hit by how much he had missed his friends while he'd been hiding from them.

"Well, I'm gonna go see Heero. Help yourself to food and stuff." He started walking towards the bedroom before he paused at the door and turned back to face them. "Thanks again, guys," he said, a grateful smile gracing his handsome features. "It means everything to know that I've got friends like you."

When he entered the bedroom, Heero was awake. The Japanese man smiled, his face illuminated by the soft glow from the bedside lamp. "Duo? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Duo soothed, sitting down and taking Heero's hands in his. "How're you feeling?"

"A little better. What's going on? Is Relena still here?"

"No; she left a short while ago. There are still some reporters outside but they're starting to get bored. They'll be gone soon."

"You did a very noble thing, Duo." Heero said earnestly, his dark eyes sincere.

"You think?"

"Relena didn't deserve your compassion, but you showed that you're a better person than she is."

Duo shrugged, slightly embarrassed by the compliment. "She did love you, Heero. She just had a weird way of showing it."

Heero nodded, before he opened his arms, inviting Duo in. The braided man couldn't resist; savouring Heero's unique scent and the strength and masculinity of his embrace.

"Do you think she loved me as much as you do?" Heero asked, a slightly teasing note in his voice.

Duo lifted his head, his violet eyes twinkling above his smile. "Heero Yuy, I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer."

The Japanese man chuckled as Duo lay back down on his chest. "How are the guys?" he asked after several moments of silence.

"They seem okay." Duo explained what the other pilots had told him; about how they felt comfortable with their identities being revealed. "They're good guys."

"They are," Heero agreed, giving Duo a squeeze. "I feel so lucky having such great friends _and_ you back in my life too."

The Japanese man felt Duo nod against his chest and it wasn't long before the American's breathing told him the other man had gone to sleep. In the silent room, Heero mentally counted his blessings that such an amazing coincidence had brought the two of them together again. He eventually drifted off to sleep with those thoughts, knowing his life was about to begin again, with the man that truly belonged at his side. He didn't doubt the next few months would be difficult, living under the scrutiny of the media, who were certain to be obsessed with their every movement, but if they were days spent with Duo, then it would be worth the stress.

End.


End file.
